LINE (Thailand) CEO, Dr. Phichet Rerkpreecha said that “the statistics of the use of LINE (Thailand) in March this year, or the beginning of social distancing policy, showed that LINE became an important communication tool for an increasing number of Thai people to help them get in touch with their families and friends. The use of LINE Call, via both mobile device and computer, increased by 10%. LINE Call on computer rose by 264% following the working from home policy implemented by many companies to reduce the risks of Covid-19 infection. At the same time, LINE Video Call on computer continuously gained its popularity over the past month as seen by the staggering increase in use by 270% while Voice Call use rose by more than 236%.
Apart from Chat, the use of other LINE services suggested LINE’S comprehensiveness in fulfilling life’s needs.
Social Distancing: Physically far but close to every update
LINE TODAY now provides a new content tab created specifically for news and useful information on Covid-19. Aimed at being a credible source of information in the times when everyone wants to stay updated, LINE’s Covid-19 tab played a crucial role in making people use the LINE app to search for information and read content from LINE more, resulting in the overall growth of the platform. Particularly on weekends, people came to read content on LINE by 35% more, unlike the normal times when they usually read on weekdays more. LINE (Thailand) also found that people spent more time reading LINE TODAY’s content by 12.5% and read recreational content such as entertainment and lifestyle by 15.5% more. In addition, the Covid-19 crisis made people share content via LINE Chat more by as high as 139%.
Social Distancing but enjoying all favorite content for free on small and big screens
LINE TV has continuously grown, particularly over the past two weeks when more people started to work from home. LINE TV hooked people to the screen especially on Saturdays when viewing increased by 45% compared with the normal times. LINE TV viewers moved their bedtime later by 1 hour, or from 10-11 PM to midnight, watching their favorite series and sit-coms led by hit shows such as '2Gether The Series,’ 'Pen Tor 2020,’ and 'Pai Hai Thueng Duang Dao.’
Meanwhile, content for kids such as animations and cartoons enjoyed a 30% increase in popularity, particularly on Friday nights when kids are allowed to watch cartoons on LINE TV by around 47% more. Viewers also chose to watch on the big screen by 33% more which suggests that LINE TV is the true choice of free entertainment for Thai people during this period.
Social Distancing with the no.1 assistant for all
LINE MAN, your number one assistant, was used by three times more compared to the normal times. LINE MAN served as the number one assistant for everyone by launching features such as contactless and self-pick-up deliveries to help people order food conveniently via the LINE MAN app and pick up the food themselves free of charge. LINE MAN also expedited its application process for new shops by using with the Wongnai Merchant app to bring new shops on the LINE platform in one day, resulting in a fivefold increase in new shops. An unlimited number of delivery drivers will be recruited.
Social Distancing, but shopping needs to go on
Regarding people’s shopping behavior while self-isolating at home, LINE found that the number of people who shopped on LINE SHOPPING in March increased by 68% with orders of commodities and household items jumped from the 9th to the 2nd place in the list of best-selling products in LINE SHOPPING. Each order was worth around 1,500 baht.
“The current situation of Codvid-19 makes it possible that everyone will have to continue social distancing for a while. LINE is ready to overcome this crisis with all Thai people. With our vision of 'Life on LINE’ for the Thai market, we are committed to turning the LINE platform into the 'Life Infrastructure’ for everyone,” Dr. Pichet concluded.
